Please Believe Me!
is a episode of the ''Boys Over Flowers'' anime. The episode first aired on December 29, 1996 and was the last to air that year. It was followed by "Mine at Last" on January 5, 1997. Series director Shigeyasu Yamauchi also directed the episode. Tsukushi Makino is attacked by her classmates for allegedly sleeping with Thomas. She begs Tsukasa Domyoji to not believe the lies. In a daze, he walks away with Sakurako Sanjo allowing the other students to continue bullying her. Plot In a flashback, a young Tsukasa Domyoji and his sister Tsubaki Domyoji play with puppets modeled after characters in "Little Red Riding Hood." The two are playing nicely together at first, but begin fighting when Tsukasa hits her puppet with his. Present-day, Tsukushi Makino sits at home in a state of shock after her encounter with Sakurako Sanjo earlier that night. She wonders if Tsukasa has seen the photo of her and Thomas yet. Tsukushi is disturbed by the thought, despite her previous feelings of animosity towards Tsukasa. She thinks "For some strange reason, I feel like I don't want to disappoint him." The next morning, Tsukushi walks to school feeling "like a prisoner before execution." The school is eerily quiet when she arrives. At her locker, Tsukushi is suddenly struck with a bat. She falls in pain as a crowd of laughing students forms around her. When one attempts to hit her again, Tsukushi knees him in the stomach. Yuriko Asai announces "Time to take out the trash!" Tsukushi runs off, being chased by several male students. She fights the entire way, managing to hold them off for a while. Tsukushi is inevitably caught and held down. Seconds later, Tsukasa arrives and orders them to stop. Sakurako runs up to him, before he can reach Tsukushi. She shows him the photo, saying "She deserves what she's getting." Tsukushi yells that it is a lie, asserting "I don't care if no one else believes me as long as you do!" Tsukasa is unable to process the situation so he walks off in a daze, followed closely by Sakurako. He somehow winds up at Sakurako's house, where he continues imagining Tsukushi yelling after him. There he also finds puppets much like the ones he and his sister played with. Sakurako then appears behind him, saying "Oh Grandma! What big ears you have!" She reveals that he drove her home in his car, though he does not remember. Meanwhile, Tsukushi is tied by her hands to a car. Kazuya Aoike arrives on scene and attempts to rescue Tsukushi, only to be knocked out with a single punch. Angry, Tsukushi declares "Do whatever you want! I'll show you what I'm made of!" Her tormentors then start the car. Tsukasa and Sakurako stroll through her family's garden. She tells him about her parents passing away in a plane crash. He responds "Maybe that's better than having parents who are alive, but are never around." Since he lives alone, Sakurako says "You must be lonely" which he denies, calling it a "relief" instead. She then responds "You can say that only because your family members are alive and well." Sakurako wells up with tears and heads to a certain tree, which she says was her mother's favorite. Tsukushi, meanwhile, is running with all her might in order to keep up with the car. All around her, the students cheer with delight at her struggle. Kazuya and Makiko Endo are held back to keep them from interfering. Sakurako trips and reaches for Tsukasa's arm for support. Sakurako then declares "I've always loved you..." and throws herself into his arms. However, she makes a mistake by mentioning Tsukushi's name. He remembers "I left Makino there" and moves to leave. She begs him to wait, which only serves to remind him further of Tsukushi. When Sakurako leans in to kiss him, he pushes her away. Tsukasa leaves, despite her further entreaties. At school, Tsukushi gives up hope and falls down. Thankfully, she is not dragged very far because Tsukasa stops the car seconds later. The students soon disperse, after he headbutts one. He then apologizes to Tsukushi and says "If you say it didn't happen, I believe you" as he holds her in his arms. Cast and characters Other *Kaede Domyoji *Sakurako's grandmother *Thomas *Tsukasa's father Additional voices *Masataka Nakai (young Tsukasa) *Naoko Okada (young Tsubaki) *Yusuke Oguri (male student A) *Daisuke Kishio (male student B) Staff *'Screenplay': Yumi Kageyama *'Director': Shigeyasu Yamauchi *'Animation director': Yoshihiko Umakoshi *'Art directors': Yuki Yukie, Tadaumi Shimokawa Notes *The episode is adapted from two chapters of the "Sakurako Story Arc" of the manga. *Flashbacks from episodes one and two are included in the episode. *This is the first episode that Sojiro and Akira do not appear in. *The fourth DVD of Viz Media's release was named "Please Believe Me!" after this episode. References See also External links *"Please Believe Me!" at the official website *"Please Believe Me!" on Toei Animation Category:A to Z Category:Anime Category:Episodes Category:Anime episodes